that we had seen that Cape, we should have steered west, to double the bank
of Arguin; the danger once passed, the course should have been again
directed to the south which is the route to Senegal; but he who for some
days past had guided the course of the ship, thought proper to persuade the
captain, to take immediately the southerly course, and to steer for
Portendic. We are ignorant of the reasons which induced the commander of
the frigate to give his confidence to a man who did not belong to the
staff. He was an ex-officer of the marine, who had just left an English
prison, where he had been for ten years; he certainly had not acquired
there knowledge superior to that of the officers on board, whom this mark
of deference could not but offend. M. de Chaumareys, while we were doubling
Cape Barbas, presided at the farce performed in passing the Tropic, while
he who had gained his confidence, was walking up and down the deck of the
frigate, coolly observing the numerous dangers, spread along the coast.
Several persons remonstrated against this management of the vessel,
particularly Mr. Picard the greffier of Senegal, who had struck upon the
bank of Arguin eight years before; this enlightened man declared at that
time that we were running into danger.

As soon as the sun's altitude was observed to ascertain our position, we
saw, on the quarter deck, Mr. Maudet, ensign of the watch, working the
day's work, (making out the reckoning) upon a chicken coop; this officer
who knows all the duties of his profession, affirmed that we were on the
edge of the reef; he communicated this to the person who for some days past
had given his counsel to the commander respecting the course to be steered;
he received for answer; never mind, we are in eighty fathoms.[14]

If our course during the night had partly averted all our dangers, that
which was taken in the morning led us into them again. Mr. Maudet,
convinced that we were upon the reef, took upon him, to have soundings
taken; the colour of the water was intirely changed, which was observed
even by those who were the least used to recognise the depth of the sea, by
the appearance of the water; we even thought that we saw sand roll amid the
little waves that rose; numerous sea weeds were seen by the ship's side,
and a great many fish were caught. All these facts proved indubitably that
we were on shallow water: in fact the lead announced only eighteen fathoms;
the officer of the watch immediately informed the captain, who gave orders
to come a little more to the wind; we were going before the wind the
studding sails on the larboard; these sails were immediately lowered; the
lead was again cast, and showed six fathoms; the captain gave orders to
haul the wind as close as possible, but unhappily it was too late.[A7][B1]

The frigate luffing, almost immediately gave a heel; it proceeded a moment
longer; gave a second and then a third; it stopped at a place where the
sounding line showed only a depth of five metres sixty centimetres, and it
was the time of high water.

Unhappily we were in the season of the high tides, which was the most
unfavorable time for us because they were going to decline, and we ran a
ground just when the water was at the highest; for the rest, the tides do
not much differ in these seas; at the time of full moon they do not rise
more than fifty centimetres more than usual; in the spring tides the water
does not rise above one hundred and twenty centimetres on the reef. We have
already said that when we grounded, the sounding line marked only five
metres, and sixty centimetres; and at low water it marked, four metres
sixty centimetres, the frigate therefore saved by a metre: however, as soon
as we had stranded, the boats which went out to sound, met with places
deeper than that, where we struck, and many others not so deep; which made
us suppose that the reef is very uneven and covered with little elevations.
All the different manoeuvres which had been performed since the moment when
we found ourselves in eighteen fathoms, to that in which we struck,
succeeded each other with extraordinary rapidity: not above ten minutes
passed. Several persons have assured us that, if the ship had come entirely
to the wind, when we were in eighteen fathoms, the frigate might perhaps
have got clean, for she did not run wholly aground till she got to the west
part of the reef, and upon its edge.

We stranded on the 2d of July, at a quarter after three p.m. in 19° 36'
north latitude, and 19° 45' west longitude. This event spread the most
profound consternation; if in the midst of this disorder, there were any
men who remained collected enough to make observations, they must have been
struck with the extraordinary changes impressed on every countenance; some
persons were not to be recognised. Here you might see features become
shrunk and hideous; there a countenance which had assumed a yellow and even
a greenish hue, some men seemed thunderstruck and chained down to their
places, without strength to move. When they had recovered from the
stupefaction, with which they were at first seized, numbers gave themselves
up to excess of despair; while others uttered imprecations upon those whose
ignorance had been so fatal to us. An officer going upon deck, immediately
after the accident, spoke with energy to him, who, as we have already said,
had directed for some days the course of the ship, and said to him, "_See,
Sir, to what your obstinacy has brought us; I had warned you of it_." Two
women alone seemed insensible to this disaster; they were the wife and
daughter of the governor. What a shocking contrast! men who for twenty or
twenty-five years, had been exposed to a thousand dangers, were, profoundly
affected, while Madame and Mademoiselle Chemals, appeared insensible, and
as if unconcerned in these events.

As soon as the frigate stranded, the sails were hastily lowered, the top
gallant masts got down, the top masts lowered, and every thing necessary
arranged to get her off the reef. After numerous efforts, night being come,
they were suspended to give some repose to the crew, who had displayed
extreme activity. The next day, the third, the top masts were got down, the
yards lowered, and they heaved at the capstern upon an anchor which had
been fixed the evening before, at a cable's length a-stern of the frigate.
This operation was fruitless; for the anchor, which was too weak, could not
make sufficient resistance and gave way: a bower anchor was then used,
which, after infinite pains, was carried out to a considerable distance, to
a place where there was only a depth of five metres sixty centimetres; in
order to carry it so far, it was fixed behind a boat, under which was
placed a number of empty barrels fastened together because the boat was not
able to carry so considerable a weight.[15] The sea ran very high, and the
current was extremely strong.

This boat, when it reached the spot where it was to cast the anchor, could
not place it in the proper position to make the flukes fix in the sand, for
one of the extremities already touched the bottom, while the other was
still put of the water: being thus ill fixed, it could not answer the
purpose intended; when they began to heave upon it, it made very little
resistance, and would have been dragged on board again if they had
continued to work at the capstern.[16] In the course of the day, we staved
several water butts which were in the hold, and pumped immediately, the top
masts, except the small one which could not be got down, were thrown into
the sea; the yards, the boom, and all the pieces of wood which afterwards
composed.

If the loss of the vessel was certain, it was proper to secure the escape
of the crew: a council was called, at which the governor of Senegal gave
the plan of a raft, capable, it was said, of carrying two hundred men, with
provisions.[17] It was necessary to have recourse to an expedient of this
nature, because our six boats were judged to be incapable of taking on
board four hundred men, which was our number. The provisions were to be
deposited on the raft, and at the hours of meals, the crews of the boats
would have come to receive their rations: we were to reach all together the
sandy coast of the desert, and there furnished with arms and ammunition,
which were to be taken in by the boats before we left the frigate, we were
to form a caravan, and proceed to the Island of St. Louis. The events which
happened in the sequel, proved that this plan was perfectly well laid, and
that it might have been crowned with success: unhappily these decisions
were traced upon a loose sand, which was dispersed by the breath of
egotism.

In the evening another anchor was cast, at a pretty considerable distance
from the frigate: just before high water, we began to work at the capstern,
but in vain. The work was put off till the next morning's tide; during all
this time, the operations were performed with the greatest difficulty; the
sea was hollow, the winds strong, the boats which had to go to a distance
either to sound or fix: anchors, could not attain their object, without the
greatest efforts; rapid currents, added to the difficulties. If the weather
had not been so extremely unfavorable to us, perhaps the frigate might have
been got afloat the next day, for it had been resolved to carry out very
long warps, but the violence of the wind, and the sea, baffled these
arrangements which nothing but a calm could favor. The weather was bad
during the whole night; about four or five o'clock, at the morning tide,
all our efforts to raise her were still fruitless; we began to despair of
even being able to save her from this danger; the boats were repaired, and
the construction of the raft diligently prosecuted: during the day of the
4. several barrels of flour were thrown into the sea, some water casks
staved; some barrels of powder, intended as articles to trade with Segenal,
were also got overboard.

In the evening, a few minutes before high water, the labours at the
capstern recommenced; this time the anchors did not deceive our
expectations; for, after a few moments labour, the frigate moved on the
larboard; this motion was effected by means of an anchor fixed on the north
west; the stream cable which was bent to its ring, came by the head of the
ship and tended to make it swing; while another much stronger one, the
cable of which passed through one of the stern ports, tended to prevent it
from running a-head, by supporting its quarters the motions of which were
commanded by means of this force. This first success gave us great hopes;
we worked with ardor.

After some further efforts, the _Medusa_ began to swing sensibly; we
redoubled our efforts, she swung intirely and then had her head turned, to
the open sea. She was almost afloat, only her stern touched a little; the
work could not be continued, because the anchor was too near, and it would
have been hove up. If a warp had been carried out in the open sea, by
continuing to haul upon it, the frigate would have been got wholly afloat
that evening. All the things which had been thrown overboard had lightened
her, by twenty or thirty centimetres at the most, her draught of water
might certainly have been lessened still more; but it was not done because
the Governor of Senegal objected to throwing the barrels of flour into the
sea, alledging that the greatest scarcity prevailed in the European
factories. These considerations, however, should not have caused it to be
overlooked that we had on board fourteen twenty-four pounders, and that it
would have been easy to throw them overboard, and send them even to a
considerable distance from the frigate, by means of the yard tackle;
besides, the flour barrels might have been carefully fastened together, and
when we were once out of danger, it would have been easy for us to remove
them. This plan might have been executed without any fear of doing much
damage to the flour, which when it is plunged in the water forms round the
inside of the barrel a pretty thick crust, in consequence of the moisture,
so that the interior is preserved from injury: this method was indeed
attempted, but it was given up, because the means employed were
insufficient. More care should have been used, and all the difficulties
would have been conquered; only half measures were adopted, and in all the
manoeuvres great want of decision prevailed.[B2]

If the frigate had been lightened as soon as we struck, perhaps she might
have been saved.[18] The weather, however, as we have already said, was
almost always unfavourable, and often hindered the operations.

Some persons expected to see the frigate got afloat the next day, and their
joy shewed that they were fully persuaded of it: there were indeed some
probabilities, but they were very slight; for the vessel had been merely
got out of its bed. We had hardly succeeded in changing its place to a
distance of about two hundred metres, when the sea began to ebb: the
frigate rested on the sand, which obliged us to suspend for ever our last
operations. If it had been possible to hold her this night to two or three
cables more in the open sea, still lightening her, perhaps, we repeat it,
she might have been placed out of danger.

At night the sky became cloudy, the winds came from the sea, and blew
violently. The sea ran high, and the frigate began to heel with more and
more violence, every moment we expected to see her bulge; consternation
again spread, and we soon felt the cruel certainty that she was
irrecoverably lost.[B3] She bulged in the middle of the night, the keel
broke in two, the helm was unship'd, and held to the stern only by the
chains, which caused it to do dreadful damage; it produced the effect of a
strong horizontal ram, which violently impelled by the waves, continually
struck the poop of the ship; the whole back part of the captain's cabin was
beat in, the water entered in an alarming manner. About eleven o'clock
there was a kind of mutiny, which was afterwards checked by the presence of
the governor and the officers; it was excited by some soldiers, who
persuaded their comrades that it was intended to abandon them on board the
frigate, while the crew escaped in the boats; these alarms were excited by
the imprudence of a young man; some soldiers had already taken their arms,
and had ranged themselves on the deck, all the avenues to which they
occupied.

The raft, impelled by the strength of the current and of the sea, broke the
cable which fastened it to the frigate and began to drive; those who beheld
this accident announced it by their cries, and a boat was immediately sent
after it, which brought it back. This was a distressing night for us all;
agitated by the idea that our frigate was totally lost, and alarmed by the
violent shocks which it received from the waves, we were unable to take a
moment's repose.

At day-break, on the 5th, there were two metres seventy centimetres water
in the hold, and the pumps could no longer work with effect: it was decided
we ought to quit the vessel as soon as possible. The frigate, it was said,
threatened to upset; a childish fear, doubtless; but, what particularly
made it absolutely necessary to abandon her, was, that the water had
already penetrated between decks. A quantity of biscuit was hastily taken
from the store-room; wine and fresh water were also got out; these
provisions were intended to be placed in the boats and on the raft. To
preserve the biscuit from the salt water it was put into strong iron hooped
barrels, which were perfectly fit for the purpose. We are ignorant why
these provisions, so carefully prepared were not embarked either on the
raft or in the boats; the precipitation with which we embarked was the
cause of this negligence, so that some boats did not save above twenty-four
pounds of biscuit, a small cask of water and very little wine: the rest was
abandoned on the deck of the frigate or thrown into the sea during the
tumult of the evacuation. The raft alone had a pretty large quantity of
wine, but not a single barrel of biscuit, and if any was put upon it, it
was thrown off by the soldiers when they placed themselves upon it. To
avoid confusion, there was made, the day before, a list of the persons who
were to embark, assigning to every one the post he was to occupy; but no
attention was paid to this wise arrangement; every one took the means which
he thought the most favorable to reach the shore; those who executed the
orders which they had received to place themselves on the raft, had
certainly reason to repent it. Mr. Savigny was unfortunately of this
number; he might have stopped on board a boat, but an invincible attachment
to his duty made him forget the danger of the part which was allotted him.

At length, the moment when we were to abandon the frigate arrived. First,
the soldiers were embarked, who were almost all placed upon the raft: they
wanted to take their muskets and some cartridges: this was formally
opposed.[19] They left them on the deck, and preserved only their sabres:
some few, however, saved their carbines, and, almost all the officers,
their fowling pieces and pistols. In all, we were about one hundred and
forty-seven or one hundred and fifty; such is pretty nearly the account of
the persons who embarked on this fatal machine, one hundred and twenty
soldiers, including the officers of the army, twenty-nine men, sailors and
passengers, and one woman. The barge, commanded by a lieutenant, on board
of which were the governor and his family, took in thirty-five persons in
all: this large fourteen-oared vessel, could certainly have carried a
larger number: besides the people, there were three trunks; another
fourteen-oared boat took in forty-two persons; the captain's barge took
twenty-eight; the long boat, though in a very bad condition, destitute of
oars, took in, however, eighty-eight; an eight-oared boat which was to be
left at Senegal, for the service of the port, took twenty-five sailors; the
smallest of the boats had fifteen persons on board; among whom were the
interesting family of Mr. Picard, of whom we have spoken above: it was
composed of three young ladies, his wife, and four young children. All
these numbers added together, form a total of three hundred and
ninety-seven persons;[20] there were on board the frigate, near four
hundred sailors and soldiers: thus it appears that several poor wretches
were abandoned; when the Medusa was again found, fifty-two days after, it
was ascertained that the number of those, who had been abandoned, was
seventeen; which proves to us, that there were more than one hundred and
forty seven of us on the raft, and that it is more correct to fix the
number of the men at a hundred and fifty. It is said, that when the last
boat, which was the long boat, left the frigate, several men refused to
embark in her; the others were too much intoxicated to think of their
safety. A man of the name of Dalès, one of the seventeen who remained on
board the frigate, deposed in the council, that fourteen men had left the
long boat, because they did not think it capable of carrying so many, and
that he, with two others hid themselves, that they might not be compelled
to go on board. We are ignorant of the depositions of his two companions.

What a sight was it to behold a multitude of wretches, who all wanted to
escape death, and all sought to save themselves, either in the boats or
upon the rafts! The frigate's ladder was insufficient for so many: some
threw themselves from the vessels, trusting to the end of a rope, which was
scarcely able to bear a man's weight; some fell into the sea, and were
recovered; what is surprising is, that amidst all this confusion, there was
not a single serious accident.

Though in so terrible a situation, on our fatal raft, we cast our eyes upon
the frigate, and deeply regretted this fine vessel, which, a few days
before, seemed to command the waves, which it cut through with astonishing
rapidity. The masts, which had supported immense sails, no longer existed,
the barricade was entirely destroyed: the vessel itself was cast on the
larboard quarter.

All the boats, after they had sheered off, proceeded in different manners,
as we shall afterwards relate; but the men on board, when they reached the
shore, had to contend with a thousand causes of destruction. We will first
exactly relate all the operations that were executed till the moment when
the raft was abandoned.

About seven o'clock, the signal for departure was given; four of the boats
stood out to sea, the raft was still along side of the frigate, where it
was moored: the captain's barge was under the bowsprit and the barge near
our machine, on which it had just embarked some men. At length we were
ordered to depart; but whether from a presentiment of what was to happen to
us, or whether Mr. Correard entertained just fears, which the event proved
to be but too well founded, he would not depart, till he had convinced
himself that our raft was provided with all the necessary instruments and
charts, to navigate with some degree of safety in case bad weather should
oblige the boats to separate from us. As it was impossible to move upon the
raft, because we were so crowded together he thought it the easiest to call
to Mr. ---- who immediately answered to his call. Coming to the larboard,
he asked what we wanted?  The following questions were then put to him:
"Are we in a condition to depart?  Have we instruments and charts?" Yes,
yes, replied he, "I have provided you with every thing that can be
necessary for you." He was then asked, what naval officer was to come and
command us? he answered: "It is I; in a moment I shall be with you." After
saying this he disappeared, and went on board one of the boats.

How is it possible that a French sea officer should be guilty of such bad
faith to his unhappy countrymen, who placed all their confidence in him?

At last, the barge came to the head of the frigate, and the governor caused
himself to be let down in an arm chair; it then threw a tow rope to our
raft, and we stood off with this one boat; the second boat then gave a tow
line to the first; the Senegal boat came afterwards, and did the same;
there remained three boats, the captain's, which was still at the head of
the frigate, on board of which last there were above eighty men, who
uttered cries of despair, when they saw the boats and the raft stand off.
The three boats which towed us, soon brought us to a distance from the
vessel; they had a good wind, and the sailors rowed like men who were
resolved to save themselves from the imminent danger which threatened us.
The long-boat, and the pinnace were at some distance, and attempted to
return on board; lastly, M. De Chaumareys embarked in his barge, by one of
the ropes a-head: some sailors threw themselves into it, and loosened the
ropes, by which it was lashed to the frigate. Immediately the cries of the
people who remained on board redoubled, and an officer of the troops even
took up a carbine to fire at the captain: but was prevented. We soon saw
that this man was not equal to his duty; from the manner in which he
abandoned his people. We regretted that the arm of the officer had been
withheld when he wished to prevent the captain's design; but, our regret
was unavailing; the mischief was done; it was irreparable; he had no idea
of repairing it, and he could not return on board, for he was sure to meet
there with that death, which he sought to avoid, at the expence of honor.

M. de Chaumareys, however, went on board the long-boat, and gave order that
it should take in the men who remained on board the frigate.[B4] Some
persons belonging to this boat have informed us, that they were told there
were, at the most, about twenty who could not embark; but, the long-boat,
destitute of oars, attempted, to no purpose, to get back to the frigate; a
boat tried, without success, to tow it; it could not attain the object,
till it sent the pinnace to fetch some long ropes, one end of which was
lashed to the frigate, and the other brought on board the long-boat, which
was thus towed to the larboard side of the ship. Lieutenant Espiau, who
commanded this large boat, was surprised at finding above sixty soldiers
and sailors, instead of twenty. This officer went on board with Mr. Bredif,
engineer of mines, who tried to recall to their reason, those whose
intellectual faculties had been impaired by the presence of danger. Mr.
Espiau, embarked with proper order, the men who were on the deck; seventeen
only as we have said, refused; some fearing that the boat would founder
before she could reach the raft, and the other boats, which left it more
and more behind; some others, because they were too much intoxicated as we
have stated, to think of their safety.[B5] The fears of the former, (and
they are probably those who, according to the deposition of Dalès, returned
on board the frigate) were founded on the bad condition of the long-boat,
which let in the water on every side. After promising the men who persisted
in remaining, that assistance should be sent them, as soon as the others
arrived at Senegal, the long-boat stood off to join the little division.
Before he left the frigate, Mr. Espiau had the grand national flag
hoisted.[A8]

When this boat left the frigate to join us, we were, at least, a league and
a half distant; the captain's barge had come some time before to take the
towrope, and was at the head of the line; the smallest of the boats (the
pinnace) did not take the towline; it preceded the little division,
probably to take soundings.

As soon as all the boats had taken their post, cries of "_Vive le Roi!_"
were a thousand times repeated by the men upon the raft, and a little white
flag was hoisted at the top of a musket. Such was the order of the boats
and the raft. The chiefs of the little division which was to conduct us to
the land, had sworn not to abandon us: we are far from accusing all those
gentlemen of having violated the laws of honor; but a series of
circumstances obliged them to renounce the generous plan which they had
formed to save us, or to perish with us. These circumstances deserve to be
scrupulously examined; but our pen, guided by truth, must not fear to
record facts which truth itself dictates. It is true they are of so strange
a nature, that it is unpleasant to make them known. It is painful to us, to
have to recount such events: we have to shew to what a degree the
imagination of man is susceptible of being struck by the presence of
danger, so as to make him even forget the duties which honour imposes on
him. We, doubtless, admit that in forsaking the raft, the minds of those
who did so, were greatly agitated, and that the desire of withdrawing
themselves from danger, made them forget that a hundred and fifty
unfortunate men were going to be abandoned to the most cruel sufferings. We
shall relate the facts as we observed them, and as they have been
communicated to us, by some of our companions in misfortune.

Before we proceed, we will describe the construction of this raft, to which
a hundred and fifty persons were entrusted.

It was composed of the top-masts of the frigate, yards, fishes, boom, &c.
These different pieces joined together by very strong ropes, were perfectly
solid; the two principal pieces were two top-masts, which were placed at
the extremity of the two sides; four other masts, two of which were of the
same length and strength as the first, joined two by two, at the center of
the machine, added to its solidity. The other pieces were placed within
these four first but were not equal to them in length. Boards were nailed
on this first foundation, and formed a kind of parapet, which would have
been of great service to us if it had been higher. To render our raft still
more solid, long pieces of wood had been placed across, which projected at
least three metres: on the sides, there was a kind of railing, but it was
not above forty centimetres in height: it would have been easy to add some
crotches to it, which would have formed a breast-work of sufficient height;
but it was not done, probably because those who had the machine built, were
not to be exposed upon it. To the ends of the top-masts, two top-gallant
yards were lashed, the farther ends of which were bound by a very strong
cord, and thus formed the front part of the raft. The angular space, formed
by the two yards, was filled with pieces of wood laid across, and planks
ill adjusted. This fore part, which was at least two metres in length, had
very little solidity, and was continually submerged. The hinder part did
not terminate in a point like the fore part, but a considerable length of
this part was not more solid, so that in fact, there was only the center
which was really to be depended upon: an example will enable the reader to
judge of its dimensions. When we were no more than fifteen in it, we had
not space enough to lie down, and yet we were extremely close together. The
raft, from one extremity, to the other was at least twenty metres in
length, and about seven in breadth; this length might induce one to think,
at the first sight, that it was able to carry two hundred men, but we soon
had cruel proofs of its weakness. It was without sails or mast. As we left
the frigate they threw us the fore-top-gallant and the main-top-gallant
sails; but they did it with such precipitation, that, some persons who were
at their post, were in danger of being wounded by the fall of these sails,
which were bent to the yards. They did not give us any ropes to set up our
mast.

There was on board the raft a great quantity of barrels of flour, which had
been deposited there the preceding day, not to serve for provisions during
the passage, from the frigate to the coast, but because the raft, formed of
the barrels, not having succeeded, they were deposited on the machine, that
they might not be carried away by the sea, there were also six barrels of
wine and two small casks of water, which had been put there for the use of
the people.

Scarcely fifty men had got upon the raft, when it sunk at least seventy
centimetres under water; so that to facilitate the embarkation of the other
soldiers it was necessary to throw into the sea all the flour barrels,
which lifted by the waves, began to float and were violently driven against
the men who were at their post; if they had been fixed, perhaps some of
them might have been saved: as it was, we saved only the wine and the
water, because several persons united to preserve them, and had much
difficulty to hinder them from being thrown into the sea like the flour
barrels. The raft, lightened by throwing away these barrels, was able to
receive more men; we were at length a hundred and fifty. The machine was
submerged at least a metre: we were so crowded together that it was
impossible to take a single step; at the back and the front, we were in
water up to the middle. At the moment that we were; putting off, from the
frigate, a bag with twenty-five pounds of biscuit was thrown us, which fell
into the sea; we got it up with difficulty; it was converted into a paste,
but we preserved it in that condition. Several considerate persons fastened
the casks of wine and water to the cross pieces of the raft, and we kept a
strict watch over them. Thus we have faithfully described the nature of our
situation when we put off from the vessel.

The Commander of the raft was named Coudin who was, what is called in the
French marine an _Aspirant_ of the first class. Some days before our
departure from the roads of the Isle of Aix, he had received a severe
contusion on the fore part of the right leg, which was not approaching to
its cure, when we stranded and wholly incapacitated him from moving. One of
his comrades, moved by his situation, offered to take his place, but Mr.
Coudin, though wounded, preferred repairing to the dangerous post which was
assigned him, because he was the oldest officer of his class on board. He
was hardly on board the raft, when the sea water so increased the pain in
his leg, that he nearly fainted; we gave notice of his situation to the
nearest boat, we were answered that a boat would come and fetch this
officer. I do not know whether the order was given, but it is certain that
Mr. Coudin was obliged to remain on the fatal raft.

The long-boat, which we have been forced to lose sight of for a moment, in
order to give these necessary details, at length rallied; it was, as we
have stated, the last that left the frigate. The lieutenant who commanded
her, justly fearing that he should not be able to keep the sea, in a crazy
boat destitute of oars, badly rigged, and making much water, ran along-side
of the first boat, begging it to take in some men; they refused. This long
boat was to leave us some ropes to fix our mast; which an instant before
had been hauled to us, by the first boat, which we had before us: we do not
know what reason hindered it from leaving us these ropes, but it passed on,
and ran along-side the second boat, which equally refused to take any body
on board. The officer, who commanded the long-boat, seeing that they
refused to take any of his men, and falling more and more under the wind,
because his sails were badly trimmed, and the currents drove him, made up
to the third-boat, commanded by a sub-lieutenant named Maudet; this
officer, commanding a slight boat which the day before had a plank beat in,
by one of the cross pieces of the raft, (an accident which had been
remedied by covering the hole with a large piece of lead,) and being
besides heavily laden, in order to avoid the shock of the long-boat, which
might have been fatal to him, was forced to let loose the tow-rope, which
held him to the barge, and thus broke in two the line formed by the boats
before the craft, by separating himself from it with the captains boat
which was at the head: when the captain and Mr. Maudet had disengaged
themselves they hauled the wind, and then put about to come and take their
post; Mr. Maudet even hailed M. de Chaumareys, "_Captain take your towrope
again_," he received for answer, _yes my friend_. Two boats were still at
their post, but before the other two were able to rejoin them, the barge
separated itself; the officer who commanded it, expressed himself as
follows respecting his thus abandoning us. "The towrope was not let go from
my boat, but from that behind me." This second desertion was the forerunner
of another still more cruel; for the officer who commanded the last boat in
which was the governor, after having towed us alone, for a moment, caused
the rope to be loosened which held it to the raft. When the towropes were
let go, we were two leagues from the frigate; the breeze came from the sea,
which was as favorable as could be desired. This last tow-rope did not
break, as the governor has tried to persuade the minister of the marine,
and several persons who escaped from the raft. Walking on the terrace of a
French merchant at Senegal, in the presence of Messrs. Savigny and Coudin,
the governor explained the affair as follows: "Some men were on the front
of the raft, at the place where the tow-rope was fixed; which they pulled
so as to draw the boat nearer to them; they had already pulled several
fathoms of it to them, but a wave coming, gave a violent shock; these men
were obliged to let go; the boats then proceeded more rapidly, till the
rope was stretched; at the moment when the boats effected this tension the
effort was such, that the rope broke." This manner of explaining this last
desertion is very adroit, and might easily deceive those who were not on
the spot, but it is not possible for us to accede to it, since we could
even name the person who loosened it.

Some persons belonging to the other boats have assured us, that all the
boats were coming to resume their post, when a cry of "_we forsake them_,"
was heard: we have this fact from many of our companions in misfortune. The
whole line was thrown into disorder, and no measures were taken to remedy
it: it is probable, that if one of the first officers had set the example,
order would have been restored; but every one was left to himself; hence
there was no concert in the little division; every one thought of escaping
from personal danger.

Let us here do justice to the courage of Mr. Clanet, pay-master of the
frigate, who was on board the governor's boat; if he had been listened to,
this tow-rope would not have been let go; every moment an officer who was
in the governor's boat cried out aloud, "_shall I let go?_" Mr. Clanet
opposed it, answering with firmness, "_No no_!" Some persons joined him,
but could obtain nothing, the tow-rope was let go: we considered it as
certain, that the commander of the other boats, on seeing the chief of the
expedition courageously devote himself, would have come and resumed their
posts: but it may be said that each individual boat was abandoned by all
the others: there was wanting, on this occasion, a man of great coolness:
and ought not this man to have been found among the chief officers?  How
shall their conduct be justified?  There are, certainly, some reasons to be
alledged. Impartial judges of events, we will describe them, not as unhappy
victims of the consequences of this desertion, but as men free from all
personal resentment, and who listen only to the voice of truth.

The raft, drawn by all the boats united, dragged them a little back; it is
true that we just had the ebb, and the currents set from shore. To be in
the open sea with undecked vessels, might well inspire some apprehensions:
but, in a few hours, the currents would change and favor us; we ought to
have waited for this moment, which would have infallibly demonstrated the
possibility of drawing us to the coast, which was not above twelve or
fifteen leagues distant: this is so true that the boats discovered the
coast, the same evening, before sunset. Perhaps they would have been forced
to forsake us the second night after our departure, if indeed more than
thirty-six hours had been required to tow us to land; for the weather was
very bad; but we should then have been very near to the coast, and it would
have been very easy to save us: at least we should have had only the
elements to accuse!--We are persuaded that a short time would have sufficed
to tow us within sight of land, for, the evening of our being deserted, the
raft was precisely in the direction which the boats had followed between
the frigates and the coast, and, at least, five leagues from the former.
The next morning, at daybreak, we could no longer see the Medusa.[A9]

At the first moment we did not really believe that we had been so cruelly
abandoned. We imagined that the boats had let loose, because they had
perceived a vessel, and hastened towards it to ask assistance. The
long-boat was pretty near us to leeward on the starboard. She lowered her
foresail half way down: her manoeuvre made us think that she was going to
take the first tow-rope: she remained so a moment, lowered her foresail
entirely, setup her main-mast, hoisted her sails, and followed the rest of
the division. Some men in this boat, seeing that the others deserted us,
threatened to fire upon them, but were stopped by Lieutenant Espiau. Many
persons have assured us that it was the intention of this officer to come
and take the tow-rope; but his crew opposed it; had he done so, he would
certainly have acted with great imprudence. His efforts would have been of
little use to us, and his devotedness would but have increased the number
of victims.[B6] As soon as this boat was gone, we had no doubt but that we
were abandoned; yet we were not fully convinced of it till the boats had
disappeared.

It was now that we had need of all our courage, which, however, forsook us
more than once: we really believed that we were sacrificed, and with one
accord, we cried that this desertion was premeditated. We all swore to
revenge ourselves if we had the good fortune to reach the shore, and there
is no doubt but that, if we could have overtaken, the next day, those who
had fled in the boats, an obstinate combat would have taken place between,
them and us.

It was then that some persons who had been marked out for the boats, deeply
regretted that they had preferred the raft, because duty and honor had
pointed out this post to them. We could mention some persons: for example,
Mr. Correard, among others, was to go in one of the boats; but twelve of
the workmen, whom we commanded, had been set down for the raft; he thought
that in his quality of commander of engineers, it was his duty not to
separate from the majority of those who had been confided to him, and who
had promised to follow him wherever the exigencies of the service might
require; from that moment his fate became inseparable from theirs, and he
exerted himself to the utmost to obtain the governor's permission to have
his men embarked in the same boat as himself; but seeing that he could
obtain nothing to ameliorate the fate of these brave men, he told the
governor that he was incapable of committing an act of baseness: that since
he would not put his workmen in the same boat with him, he begged him to
allow him to go on the raft with them, which was granted.

Several military officers imitated their example; only two of those who
were to command the troops did not think fit to place themselves upon the
raft, the equipment of which, in truth, could not inspire much confidence.

One of them, Captain Beinière, placed himself in the long-boat with 36 of
his soldiers. We had been told that these troops had been charged to
superintend the proceedings of the other boats, and to fire upon those who
should attempt to abandon the raft. It is true, as we have seen above, that
some brave soldiers listening, perhaps, more to the voice of humanity and
French honor, than to the strict maxims of discipline, were desirous of
employing their arms against those who basely abandoned us, but, that their
will and their actions were paralized by the passive obedience which they
owed to their officers, who opposed this resolution.

The other, Mr. Danglas, a lieutenant, who had lately left the
_gardes-du-corps_, had at first embarked with us upon the raft, where his
post was assigned him, but when he saw the danger which he incurred on this
unstable machine, he made haste to quit it, on the pretext that he had
forgotten something on board the frigate, and did not return. It was he
whom we saw, armed with a carbine, threaten to fire on the barge of the
governor, when it began to move from the frigate. This movement, and some
other actions which were taken for madness, nearly cost him his life; for
while he was thus giving himself up to a kind of extravagance, the captain
took flight, and abandoned him on board the frigate with the sixty-three
men whom he left there. When M. Danglas saw himself treated in this manner,
he gave marks of the most furious despair. They were obliged to hinder him
from attempting his own life. With loud cries he invoked death, which he
believed inevitable in the midst of perils so imminent. It is certain that
if Mr. Espiau, who had his long-boat already full, had not returned to take
from on board the frigate, the forty-six men, among whom, was Mr. Danglas,
he and all his companions would not, perhaps, have experienced a better
fate than the seventeen who were finally left on board the Medusa.

After the disappearance of the boats, the consternation was extreme: all
the terrors of thirst and famine arose before our imaginations, and we had
besides to contend with a perfidious element, which already covered the
half of our bodies: when recovered from their stupefaction, the sailors and
soldiers gave themselves up to despair; all saw inevitable destruction
before them, and gave vent in lamentations to the gloomy thoughts which
agitated them. All we said did not at first avail to calm their fears, in
which we however participated, but which a greater degree of strength of
mind enabled us to dissemble. At last, a firm countenance and consoling
words succeeded in calming them by degrees, but could not wholly dispel the
terror with which they were struck; for according to the judicious
reflection, made after reading our deplorable story, by Mr. Jay, whose
authority we quote with pleasure, "To support extreme misfortunes, and what
is worthy of remark, to bear great fatigues, moral energy is much more
necessary than corporeal strength, nay, than the habit of privations and
hard labour. On this narrow theatre where so many sufferings are united,
where the most cruel extremes of hunger and thirst are experienced, strong
and indefatigable men who have been brought up to the most laborious
professions, sink in succession under the weight of the common destiny,
while men of a weak constitution, and not inured to fatigue, find in their
minds the strength which their bodies want, endure with courage unheard-of
trials, and issue victorious from their struggle with the most horrible
afflictions. It is to the education they have received, to the exercise of
their intellectual faculties, that they owe this astonishing superiority
and their deliverance," When tranquillity was a little restored, we began
to look upon the raft for the charts, the compass and the anchor, which we
presumed had been placed there, from what had been said to us at the time
we quitted the frigate. These highly necessary articles had not been put
upon our machine. The want of a compass in particular, greatly alarmed us,
and we uttered cries of rage and vengeance. Mr. Correard then recollected,
that he had seen one in the hands of one of the chief workmen under his
command, and enquired of this man about it: "Yes, yes," said he, "I have it
with me." This news transported us with joy, and we thought that our safety
depended on this feeble resource. This little compass was about the size of
a crown-piece, and far from correct. He who has not been exposed to events,
in which his existence was in imminent peril, can form but a faint idea of
the value which one then sets upon the most common and simple objects, with
what avidity one seizes the slightest means, that are capable of softening
the rigour of the fate with which one has to contend. This compass was
given to the commander of the raft; but an accident deprived us of it for
ever: it fell, and was lost between the pieces of wood which composed our
machine: we had kept it only for a few hours; after this loss, we had
nothing to guide us but the rising and setting of the sun.

We had all left the frigate without taking any food: hunger began to be
severely felt; we mixed our biscuit-paste (which had fallen into the sea)
with a little wine, and we distributed it thus prepared: such was our first
meal, and the best we had the whole time we were on the raft.

An order, according to numbers, was fixed for the distribution of our
miserable provisions. The ration of wine was fixed at three quarters[21] a
day: we shall say no more of the biscuit: the first distribution consumed
it entirely. The day passed over pretty quietly: we conversed on the means
which we should employ to save ourselves; we spoke of it as a certainty,
which animated our courage: and we kept up that of the soldiers, by
cherishing the hope of being soon able to revenge ourselves upon those who
had so basely abandoned us. This hope of vengeance inspired us all equally,
and we uttered a thousand imprecations against those who had left us a prey
to so many misfortunes and dangers. The officer who commanded, the raft
being unable to move, Mr. Savigny took on himself the care of setting up
the mast; he caused the pole of one of the frigate's masts to be cut in
two; we employed the main-top-gallant sail; the mast was kept up by the
rope which had served to tow us, of which we made shrouds and stays: it was
fixed on the anterior third of the raft. The sail trimmed very well, but
the effect of it was of very little use to us; it served only when the wind
came from behind, and to make the raft preserve this direction it was
necessary to trim the sail, as if the wind came athwart. We think that the
cross position which our raft always retained, may be attributed to the too
great length of the pieces of wood which projected on each side.

In the evening, our hearts and our prayers, with the impulse natural to the
unfortunate, were directed towards heaven; we invoked it with fervour, and
we derived from our prayers the advantage of hoping in our safety: one must
have experienced cruel situations, to imagine what a soothing charm, in the
midst of misfortune, is afforded by the sublime idea of a God, the
protector of the unfortunate. One consoling idea still pleased our
imaginations; we presumed that the little division had sailed for the Isle
of Arguin, and that after having landed there a part of its people, would
return to our assistance: this idea, which we tried to inspire into our
soldiers and sailors, checked their clamours. The night came, and our hopes
were not yet fulfilled: the wind freshened, the sea rose considerably. What
a dreadful night! Nothing but the idea of seeing the boats the next day,
gave some consolation to our people; who being most of them unused to the
motion of a vessel,[22] at every shock of the sea, fell upon each other.
Mr. Savigny, assisted by some persons, who, in the midst of this disorder,
still retained their presence of mind, fastened some ropes to the pieces of
the raft: the men took hold of them, and by means of this support, were
better able to resist the force of the waves: some were obliged to fasten
themselves. In the middle of the night the weather was very bad; very heavy
waves rolled upon us, and often threw us down with great violence; the
cries of the people were mingled with the roaring of the billows; a
dreadful sea lifted us every moment from the raft, and threatened to carry
us away. This scene was rendered still more awful by the horrors of a very
dark night; for some moments we thought that we saw fires at a distance. We
had taken the precaution to hang, at the top of the mast, some gun-powder
and pistols, with which we had provided ourselves on board the frigate: we
made signals by burning a great many charges of powder; we even fired some
pistol-shot, but it seems that these fires were only an illusion of the
eyesight, or perhaps they were nothing but the dashing of the breakers.